| Amethyst
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Excerpts
of Articles |
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The
art of lapidary is to place
the color correctly in order to make
homogeneous the tone of the cut stone.
The
distribution of the color in a cut stone is observed simply by immersing
it in water contained in a transparent container and colourless.
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| Corundum
Ruby
& Sapphire |
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Corundum
is composed of
pure
alumina; its colouring is due to metallic
oxide traces or inclusions.
Gems are generally
found in alluvium, but come either from basaltic slag, or from metamorphosed
marbles.
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| Garnet |
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The
Besafotra river carry the spessartites on several kilometers from
their source, doubtless a sodolitic pegmatite.
Tanety
"grounds bordering the river," are also the object of the orange
garnet's fever.
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Malaya
Garnet Discovery
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This marvellous
chromium-spessartite garnet from
Madagascar was discovered in its bedrock in 1996.
This
discovery remains
exceptional by the quality of its product and also by the fact that it was
the second deposit in the world to deliver this type of Malaya garnet.
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Inclusion
Quartz |
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Wonder
of nature, quartz accommodated various inclusions during its formation,
sometimes, rutile needles forming sheaves of wire of bronze color, the chlorite
adding a key of green to the hot colors such an oasis in the desert.
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Tourmaline |
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Coloured
tourmalines are related to sodolithic pegmatite.
One
distinguishes two principal types of tourmalines: the hexagonal type and
the triangular one.
The
Mine of Anjanabonoina,
located in the high plateaus, produced rubellites, green tourmalines, and
a variety of rare stones.
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Crystalline
Systems |
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7
systems of crystallization:
There are 32 possibilities of combinations of the elements of
symmetry.
All
the geometrical operations which cause a repetition of the pattern
are called operations of symmetry.
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Cutting
Styles |
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Table,
Crown, Girdle, Pavilion, Culet. |
| Fancy
Styles |
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Shield
Cut, Trillant Cut. |
| Cutting
Characteristics |
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When
a stone is cut according to good proportions, the light is
reflected from one facet to another and arises by the top.
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Gemology
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to Top
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Microscopes:
the binocular one, i.e. to double objective is best adapted for
gemology. The microscope is
of first importance in the detection of counterfeits.
Indeed, the study of inclusions which the stone can contain is a
practical means to identify the gems while explaining to a certain extent
the conditions under which they were formed in nature.
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| Size
& Weight |
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Sapphire,
Ruby, Emerald.
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| Madagascar
gem safari |
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to Top |
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At
the time of the great dryness in the south, sapphire samples
are found on the ground, several centuries after their first discovery.
Actually, one of the most
beautiful quality in the world is just leaving ground.
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| Rare
Stones Safari |
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The
Yellow orthoclase from Itrongay, was found
in
eluvium, but comes from a pegmatite with diopside of a very special type,
which presents the single characteristic to be made of transparent
minerals only. |
| About
Ilakaka |
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to Top |
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It
is in the accesses of the downwards brook named Ilakaka that
the first
sapphires were found in 1998.
The
excavations follow the gravel deposits which the Madagascans call
lalam' bato, (the way of stones.)
The essential
characteristic of the Isalo formations is their main constitution of soft
sandstones, very permeable, badly cemented which disaggregate easily on
surfaces by giving thick siliceous sand coverings.
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| Sakalama |
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to Top |
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This
sapphire of natural color, therefore untreated was found in alluvium in
the sandstones. This is why it does not have any more its original
shape.
The first deposits
consist of conglomerates, gravels and sands, One
finds there elements of rocks and minerals:
quartz, feldspars, micas, zircons, tourmalines, ilmenites,
magnetite, monazite, rutile, chrysoberyls, corundum.
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| Andranondambo
Area |
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to Top |
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The
occurrences of the Andranondambo area were industrially
exploited since 1993 and have been almost
abandoned few years later. Actually, it is very difficult to
exploit sapphire direct in the mother rock, because the corundum is
not concentrated enough.
This sapphire was sold as a Kashmir Sapphire by some dealers on the
international market. |
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Andranondambo
discovery
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The
Story |
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In
1991 a new sapphire
occurrence, similar in quality to that of Kashmir, is discovered in
the southeast of Madagascar.
At
the end of June 91, John's notebook contains the whole of the sapphire occurrences
in the area of Tranomaro; these
places which will be two years later, in summer 93, the subject of the
rush. |
| The
Emerald forest |
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to Top |
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Madagascar
was previously called the country of beryl.
Several tons of emerald
have been extracted from this area.
Crossing the Mananjary
river which is infested by
crocodiles.
The hill has been scalp to reach the precious
material. |
| Pakistan
Gem Safari |
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to Top |
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The
Northern areas conceals treasures, such of rubies, emeralds, sapphires,
aquamarines, topazes, tourmalines etc.
This is at the occasion
of one of our visits in the valley, that some children tolled us that they
found some fragments of emerald in the Swat river.
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| Gem
Adventure (novel) |
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to Top |
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The
plane landed early – something extremely rare on the AirMad line
serving Tananarive. Mrs. Nory was standing
on the airport's tarmac, right
next to a gendarme.
She welcomed her
daughter Tina coming back from Belgium.
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| Landscape
images
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This
page recalls more than fifteen years of adventure, looking for the
most beautiful stones in Madagascar.
J. & A. Darbellay put it in image
for your
pleasure.
The photographs are to be discovered by clicking in the
images! |
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